"A new favorite has emerged, according to the bookkeepers.
Two semi-finals and 36 performances later, we now know the 20 acts that will join the Big Five and host country Ukraine in Saturday's Grand Final of the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest. Here is the full running order of Saturday's show:
[table id=18 /]
How did we do predicting the results of the first semi-final? Collectively, we got eight out of ten correct. Finland and Latvia failed to make the cut, though we did acknowledge that Cyprus (which did qualify) was on the bubble. Once again, YouTube predicted Poland would advance though every other metric had it ranked 11th at best. "Flashlight" probably won't finish third in the public vote, but it will probably outperform most expectations.
Did we do any better in predicting the second semi-final? Eh, we were eight for ten there as well. Serbia and FYR Macedonia missed the cut while Austria and Croatia managed to snag a spot on Saturday. Serbia and FYR Macedonia may have been the victims of early placement in the running order, as the show had no dud performances and these two entries were not able to stand out enough. It will be interesting to see how these shook out when the official rankings are revealed Sunday morning.
That leaves the business of the Grand Final on Saturday. At last check((6:15pm CET Friday, May 12)), Portugal has overtaken Italy as the bookies favorite to win. Bulgaria is third favorite, followed by Belgium and Sweden. Romania, United Kingdom, and Croatia are also in the mix. If these were your top seven choices even two weeks ago, it would be a surprise if anyone took you seriously. We should be in for an exciting show and points reveal in a little more than 24 hours.
US friends: you can watch the Grand Final live on LogoTV and LogoTV.com starting at 3pm Eastern / Noon Pacific. If you still haven't forgiven Michelle Visage((SHE KNOWS WHY)) and would prefer to watch the show without her and Ross Mathews' commentary, we recommend Sweden's broadcast of the competition, which can be found on the SVT Play app or on their website.
Good luck to the 26 finalists!"